Legalized Discrimination

The conservative majority of the Supreme Court recently legalized discrimination against LGBTQI individuals by businesses on the basis of the first amendment right of free speech. In this case, what that means is the Supreme Court has expanded the legal definition of free speech to allow for discrimination based on “religious” belief.

I did not buy the argument that a corporation has the same protections and rights (but not the responsibilities) of an individual that the first amendment gives to individual humans when the Supreme Court decided Citizens United in 2010. That case gave the human right of free speech (for political purposes) to corporations and the über wealthy. And I do not buy the rationale that legalizes discrimination on the basis of “religious” beliefs to condone and allow for discrimination. I put “religious” in quotes because it is not clear to me how a belief that discrimination is moral or justifiable is religious.

Is the conservative majority of the Supreme Court abusing the meaning and intent of the first amendment by expanding the definition and scope of the amendment and in so doing trampling on the rights of the majority of people? Do these cases legitimize and legalize abuses such as creating a pay-to-play, highest bidder wins democracy in Citizens United, and discrimination on 303 Creative? Doesn’t allowing discrimination against any one group of people open up the possibility of similarly discriminating against any other groups or individuals? What is to stop that from happening?

Is the Supreme Court a religious arbiter? Is the Supreme Court a moral authority? Is the Supreme Court under any obligation to serve the needs and guarantee the rights of all the people, or just those it picks and chooses to serve and assist and exclude all others?

The six conservative Supreme Court justices have varying loyalties and connections to personal beliefs and large scale churchly (notice I did not say religious) influences. They are making decisions based on their own personal connections and loyalties and this is causing direct negative impacts and consequences for the entire citizenry of the country. Is this the impartial and ethical Supreme Court that was envisioned by the writers of the Constitution? Is this Supreme Court defending, protecting and supporting the constitution’s mandate to keep church and state separate?

Now that the Supreme Court has legalized discrimination against LGBTQI people, LGBTQI individuals will have to think about where they spend their money and do their business. Likewise, non LGBTQI people who go into businesses that discriminate will face the possibility of legalized discrimination against them if the business owner suspects them to be objectionably different and/or religiously offensive. The door of discrimination is open. And by that I mean it is fully open.

Why did the Supreme Court establish a legitimacy for discrimination that deliberately makes society more hostile and less civil? That is what it has done by legalizing discrimination in the case of 303 Creative.

Congress could end discrimination by passing the Equality Act.